B'makom Rabbi Jana's Blog

I call this blog "B'makom," which means, "in place." Currently we are each obligated to stay in place - in order to protect ourselves and each other. Since Hebrew does not have indefinite articles (like the little word "a"), it also means "in a place." I took it from a song about a quote from Rabbi Hillel. I learned the song during my teen-age NFTY conclaves. I love that song (and I really like Michael Isaacson too - now...Read more...

I want to wake up in a world without hate. I want to wake up in a world where black men are not murdered by police officers. I want to wake up in a world where police officers are not having to deal with dangerous mobs. I want to wake up in a world where we see clearly who is working toward justice, and who is fueling fear. I want to wake up in a world where we do not have to worry about infecting each other with a deadly virus. I want to...Read more...

There is an expression: "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain." The origin of the expression was a story about the Muslim Prophet, Mohammed. The legend goes that the Prophet Mohammed was asked to provide proof of his teaching, so he ordered Mount Safa to come to him. When the mountain did not move, would go the mountain. (There's a bit more to the story and its use. I found this version here,...Read more...

I love to teach Hebrew. In the early eighties I was "Lay Rabbi" for congregations in Vermont (which was less than an hour's drive from where I lived and went to college in Albany, NY). I created a Primer for the students. I was a songleader in the summers and teaching Bar/Bat Mitzvah students (among other classes) during the school year. I took all of the songs that I sang at summer camp, and all of the prayers and blessings the students...Read more...

This post will also begin with a song memory from my teenage years. When I was in High School a friend gave me a Poogy album. Actually, the band was called "Kaveret" and the album was called Sippurei Poogy ("Poogy Tales"). I played that album a lot, and learned a lot of Hebrew by listening to it. One of the songs had many expressions, and the words were used as if they were the expression and then was also taken literally - and it was really...Read more...

What is the best way to take care of yourself? I spoke with someone the other day who felt that, since they were not in any of the high risk categories, they were ok with going to the store whenever they wanted, and that they did not need to wear gloves or a mask, because they weren't worried about dying from this virus. I explained that they should be thinking about the possibility that they may even get it and not be symptomatic, which...Read more...

There is a tradition, called "Minhag haMakom" of keeping the local customs. "Minhag" means custom, and "haMakom" means "the Place." Examples include... at B'nai Zion, during Friday evening service, our custom is to stand, bless the candles, and immediately do the Kiddush. Many communities do not even light candles or do Kiddush during services. More communities do the blessings, but the Kiddush will be done later in the...Read more...

In Hebrew there is a word for tomorrow (machar) and a word for the day after tomorrow (mochrotayim). There are also words for yesterday (etmol), and the day before yesterday (shilshom).

There is something about this quarantine/ stay at home period that makes me feel like I am losing touch with what day it is. I feel like the English language (or Hebrew, for that matter) could use a word that means something like: I know it was a...Read more...

My family's tradition is that when we read the part of the Seder that mentions each of the plagues in order, we dip our pinky finger in our wine cup, and remove a drop for each plague. After all ten plagues I would lick the wine from my finger. One reason we are taught that we do this is to realize that our joy (wine is the symbol of human joy) is diminished because of the suffering that the plagues caused. (That doesn't explain why we used...Read more...